Lario Investments is advancing plans for a new mixed-use project in Denver’s Cherry Creek North district, targeting a site currently improved with a mid-1960s office building. The investor has submitted a proposal to the city to redevelop the property at 2702 E. 3rd Ave., where a three-story office structure built in 1966 would be demolished and replaced with a larger, five-story building.
The planned project, to be known as 3rd & Clayton, is designed as a 106,811-square-foot mixed-use asset. According to the filing, the new building would significantly increase the site’s commercial density while maintaining a primarily office and retail profile. Plans call for three levels of subgrade parking to support the property’s anticipated office users, visitors and retail customers.
The ground floor of 3rd & Clayton is slated to include 7,500 square feet of retail space, positioning the project to contribute additional storefronts to the Cherry Creek North streetscape. The first floor would also house the main building lobby, featuring a reception area intended to serve office tenants and visitors. A fitness center is planned at the southwest corner of the building, located on the same level, providing on-site wellness amenities for building occupants.
Above the ground floor, the proposal calls for 55,861 square feet of office space. These office floors are designed to replace and expand upon the current office capacity at the site, which is presently configured as three stories of office space above a garden level. The redevelopment would therefore transition the property from an older, smaller-scale office building to a larger, modern mixed-use structure that remains heavily oriented toward office use.
The existing building at 2702 E. 3rd Ave. currently includes three stories of office space along with a garden level that houses two restaurant tenants, La Merise French Bistro and Sweet Ginger Asian Bistro and Sushi. The planned redevelopment indicates a full-site repositioning, though the filing details center on the new building’s size and program rather than any future tenancy for the garden-level restaurant spaces.
The Denver Business Journal reports that Lario Investments acquired the current building in 2023 for $12.5 million. That purchase established control of the Cherry Creek North site ahead of the newly filed redevelopment plan. With entitlements and city review still ahead, the 3rd & Clayton proposal marks a notable step in the ongoing evolution of Cherry Creek North’s mix of office, retail and parking inventory.
